Company History

A look at important milestones in our family's business

1943 - Imperial Founded by Michael Joest

Michael Joest moved to America in hopes of creating a better life for his family. After working as a tool maker for western electric, he decided to take a shot at his version of the American dream. With a loan and a few small machine tools, he opened the doors to Imperial Machine & Tool Co.

2013 - Imperial buys its 1st Metal Additive Manufacturing system

After GE acquired Morris Technologies in 2012, Imperial began researching Metal Additive Manufacturing systems and what they were capable of. It quickly became clear that Metal AM was a natural fit for Imperial's precision machine shop background, and the metal AM would play an integral role in the future of advance manufacturing. Knowing there would be a challenging learning curve, Imperial decided to dive in and purchased an SLM 280 HL.

2015 - Imperial buys its 2nd Metal Additive Manufacturing system

As the industry matured Metal AM work began to pick up. Imperial developed a reputation for having one of the finest metal AM departments in the country. To meet the growing market, Imperial purchased a second metal additive manufacturing system, an SLM 280 HL "Twin-Laser"

The Imperial team was asked to share real-world insight about successfully incorporating metal AM into traditional manufacturing operations. The presentation, "A 73 Year-old Machine Shop's Journey into Metal Additive Manufacturing", was chosen as the opening talk for the conference's Business & Economic Considerations track.

Recent Projects

Hybrid Manufacturing

Metal 3D Printing +Precision CNC Machining = Hybrid Manufacturing

"Hybrid Manufacturing" refers to the use of additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques together to yield precision end-use components. This case study shows the entire Hybrid process with high-resolution photos.